Rewriting the Stories
by Lady Lylia
Summary: I just took my favorite LJ Smith scenes and retold them from the guy's point of view. DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING in these stories. PS: There's telapathic communication in most of these, no way to note it. Sorry! WARNING: SPOILERS! PS: Huntress up next! :)
1. Night World: Daughters of Darkness (Ash'...

I sighed. Us sitting around the table at 3:30am was not going to solve anything.  
  
Everyone seemed to agree. "I'm tired. Can't we go home?" came from Mark, slumped across the table. I do not know what to think of him. He likes my little sister, so he can't be all bad, but he's a human. On top of that, he is also the little brother of my soul- of Mary Lynette. If I don't think it, then maybe it won't be true. I laugh at myself for thinking that. There is no hope for pretending we are not.  
  
I glance over at her. She sighs too. "If there wasn't a goat-killing psychopath on the loose, I'd go look at the stars."  
  
"Why not? I'll go with you." Why the hell did I say that? Going with her is not going to solve my problems. I refuse to look at my sisters, who are right now giving me looks of total shock, or at Mare, who seems to have a sudden fascination with her shoes. "I mean, the goat killer can't be out murdering things 24/7, and even if it did show up, I could protect you, I mean that we could handle it." Smooth, Ashy-boy. Now she can get on the defensive because I called her weak. Wait, why do I care? Damn it!  
  
"Look, now," was all that Mark could figure out to say. Okay, the guy has more brains than I credited him for. He realizes I could kill her a dozen different ways, even if he does not realize that doing that would destroy me in the process. Part of me finally has realized that soulmates are real, and Mary-Lynette is it.  
  
She just smiled at him. "We won't go far, I promise." Thank you, Mare!  
  
We get up and leave slowly. "I'll drive," is the only thing she says, so we get in the car. We go along back roads for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Finally, we come to a stop, in the middle of the forest.  
  
"I thought you said we were going to look at the stars. I can't see any!" What is she trying to pull?  
  
She just smiles at me, saying, "You can if you look straight up." Wow, does she ever have a pretty smile. "See that there," she asks, doing all but touching me to point one star out, "the one really bright star? That's Vega."  
  
"It's been getting higher in the sky every night for a while now," I say calmly, until I see her shocked look. "When you are out at night, you tend to notice the stars, even if you don't know their names. What's the green donut-shaped thing under it?"  
  
Her eyes bug out for a second, and then she smiles. "That's the ring nebula. I can see that, with my telescope." She sounds so wistful, like she would love to see the sky with her own eyes. If only she knew what people who could were like, maybe she wouldn't envy us.  
  
She smiles that smile again, and asks "Want to go for a walk?"  
  
I nod and walk beside her. We are silent for a minute or two. "Can I ask you something?" She nods. "Can we stop fighting now?"  
  
"Sure," and she looks at me in a way I can't describe. My soul trembles, which I thought was something that only happened in sappy romance novels, but I guess they didn't make it up after all.  
  
"This is so weird," was all I could say, and she looks just looks at me. "Someone told me this would happen."  
  
"That you would go to a hick town and chase a goat killer?"  
  
"That I would care about someone and it would hurt. This just happened to my cousin James." She looks at me, curious. "He's lamia too, but he lives with humans. His soulmate, Poppy, was a human, dying of cancer. He changed her so she would live, and they were happy enough. I tried to turn her in, but James saved her. Dammit, I am so stupid! Now I am in the same trap, and Quinn is going to turn us in." My head slumps. I am so tired of all of this. "I didn't mean to love you, I didn't want to! But now I do, and it puts us both in danger."  
  
"It isn't very flattering to tell someone you love them against their will."  
  
"I know."  
  
She sighs. "This is so weird. We are completely wrong for each other. Even if I was a vampire, we'd be wrong for each other, and we're soulmates. We are, aren't we?" I nod. "But we aren't really compatible at all."  
  
"We might not be as wrong for each other as you would think." She looks shocked. "I think I could show you how compatible we really are, if ..."  
  
"If what?" She really seems to want to know. She really seems to want to be with me!  
  
"If you could bring yourself to kiss me." I rush on before she can say no. "I know, it's a radical idea, but it might work. If you are willing to try it."  
  
"Would you kiss a 300 pound gorilla?" What? She must see the look on my face, because she finishes, "I'm sorry. You don't look like one."  
  
"What then, I smell like one?" If she's trying to push me away, it's working.  
  
"No, you are just much stronger than I am. Would you trust a gorilla, knowing that she could snap you in half and you would be powerless to do anything about it?" That makes sense.  
  
"You wouldn't be powerless against me." I break a yew branch so it has a nice sharp point and hold it to my neck. "Here, take it." What the hell am I doing? She could kill me now and solve both our problems. She takes the end of the branch, still holding it to my throat. "One jab here, then one in the heart, and I am out of your life. Now we have equal footing. Of course, you don't need a spear like this, a pencil would do the trick."  
  
Mare just looks at the branch, then at me. Suddenly, she chucks it. "You've changed a lot."  
  
"I don't know myself anymore," was all I could say. And I don't. I'm in love with a human.  
  
She nods slowly, and then she stands on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around my neck. We kiss. Oh God, this feels amazing! It isn't like I have never kissed a girl before, far from it. But it has never, ever been like this.  
  
Slowly, she pulls back after a moment. Our arms are still around each other, and every part of me that's touching her tingles. I can't read the look on her face. Doesn't she feel the way I do? "Mare, did you like it?"  
  
She smiles. "I want you to make me a vampire." I just look at her for a second. Is it worth being with her forever if I have to make her like me? One good look into her eyes stops that. She is sure she wants this.  
  
I tilt her head back, exposing her neck. How many times have I done this to girls who didn't know what was coming? But she isn't afraid. I hate myself so much at how eager I am for her blood. My fangs are sticking out so far that my gums hurt. My heart is beating so fast, all my blood is rushing to my face, just as much from embarassment as from thrill at feasting. I touch my mouth to her neck, and my teeth sink into her throat.  
  
Ash? She sounds confused. She's never communicated telepathically before.  
  
It's okay. I'm right here. This is weird. I never get this close to people when I bite them. It's like Mare and I are sharing our souls.  
  
This is dangerous to her. She can see anything she wants in here, and I'm not sure that I can stop her. There are things I have seen, and done, that she should not have to know. I am ashamed of it all now, but that does not take it all out of my memory.  
  
I've had enough, if I take more I will hurt her. I slowly pull back, trying to avoid hurting her with my teeth. I have had too much practice causing extra pain with my fangs, so I have to concentrate on it. It does not help that Mare has her hand on the back of my head, and she is trying to hold me to her. "Don't push me, or you will get seriously weak, sweetheart." I try to say it like I would to any other human girl, but it doesn't come out right. Probably because I mean it.  
  
I finally disentangle us and walk over to the yew branch I had handed Mare a few minutes ago. What if something goes wrong? What if we get caught by the Nightworld, or the goat-killer, or even just my sisters and Mark? What will we say, what can we do? Damn it, there is so much that could go wrong right now, I do not even want to think about it. But of course I am, so I had better get on with it before I lose my resolve.  
  
I lean up against the tree in front of Mare, then use the yew branch to open up my jugular. I think Mare is just now realizing what I am doing. She walks up to me, and we wrap our arms around each other. Her lips go to my neck, and I close my eyes.  
  
It's happening again. We are in each others' souls. If only there was not so much that no one, especially Mare, deserves to see inside me, then I would really enjoy this.  
  
Why won't you show me? She sounds hurt, upset. She thinks that I am lying to her. I don't think I could if I tried!  
  
Because even I get nightmares from this stuff, and I see, and do, this sort of thing daily. I think she understands. She is finally realizing what I have been doing in my free time for the past eighteen years. But she also sees that I will never do it again.  
  
I whisper out loud, "Time to stop." She lifts her head slowly, and I wipe the blood off her chin. She just smiles at me. She really has such a pretty smile. I let go of her waist, and she reels on her feet. I put my arms back around her, and I do not know if I am doing it just to keep her from falling over or because I want to hold her. Her grin gets wider and she leans on me, her head on my shoulder.  
  
"I think we need to go back so you can rest."  
  
"Why? I feel fine."  
  
"You are going to get dizzier and more tired, so we had better get you home." I think she realizes I am right, so she lets me guide her back towards the car. My arm stays around her, and she leans on me heavily. Not that it matters, since I could probably hold her with one arm. She was right, I am a gorilla compared to her, but not for much longer.  
  
Suddenly, she lifts her head. "What's that smell?"  
  
"Smells like metal and burning rubber ..."  
  
"Oh my God, the car!" We both take off at a run, and a distant part of me realizes she was leaning on me more than she needed to, and the same part of me is glad.  
  
When we get there, the entire car is in flames. "Claudine said this would happen sooner or later," was all she could say. I pat her arm, and she smiles that beautiful smile again.  
  
I hear a noise behind me, but before I can react, I am being knocked to the ground. In a moment I am barely concious, sprawling on the ground, and a horrible pain in my neck. I realize I am bleeding, but the weapon wasn't wood. I look over at my attacker, a blur of hairy... something ... Jeremy! That was the last thought before paint took me out.  
  
I slowly come awake, Mare holding my head in her lap. "Ash? Can you hear me? Ash, please answer!" She sounds so hurt.  
  
"Where is he? I'll protect you." I struggle to sit up, but she just holds me there.  
  
"You don't need to, he's dead." She is really upset.  
  
I sit up slowly again. She doesn't stop me this time, and I pat her arm. My neck is already healing, thankfully. I don't remember anything. Was it me? "Did I kill him?"  
  
"No. I did," she mutters quietly.  
  
Oh damn, she was friends with him, good friends. Now he is dead, and he wouldn't have died if my sisters and I had not come. "I am so sorry." Suddenly, without either of us having moved, we were holding each other. She started sobbing, and I just held her while she cried. We must have been there for a long time.  
  
She slowly lifts her head. "He was going to make me like him, a werewolf," she said. I snarl. No one is going to hurt my Mary Lynette, ever. I would have killed him. Oblivious, she continues, "and he probably wanted to kill you. I had to stop him, so I used a silver letter opener. I keep it to pop open the gas cap. Then, the car went up, with him in it."  
  
I just give her a big hug, and hold her for a few minutes, since I know she needs it. Then I realize that everyone has to be worried about us by now. "We need to get back."  
  
"How? The car is in flames."  
  
"I'll call my sisters."  
  
"There aren't any pay phones around here."  
  
"Vampires don't need pay phones." I reach out my mind. Rowan!  
  
Ash, we agreed not to use telepathy while we are here.  
  
I never agreed to that. Besides, this is important. Mare's car is up in flames. Come pick us up.  
  
Ash, just get a tow truck. Right now, Mark is the only one in the house, and we do not even want to do that, because of the vampire-hunter or whatever, but we have to feed.  
  
Jeremy was the goat-killer.  
  
He was? Wait, was?  
  
Mare killed him.  
  
Oh God. Is she okay?  
  
Really shaken, but she's alive. Come get us, I'll give directions as you get closer.  
  
Be there soon. And Rowan left my mind.  
  
"Well?" Mare suddenly looks like she is going to collapse.  
  
"Rowan is on her way," I say as I hold her again, kissing her forehead.  
  
"I am so tired, so drained." She looks it, I can tell she really needs to lean on me right now.  
  
"It's okay. I told you that would happen from the blood, and few full vampires are willing to take on a werewolf."  
  
She nods, then slumps foward, nearly passing out. I just pick her up again and hold her like a baby. Come on, Rowan!  
  
Almost there.  
  
* * *  
  
I don't want to go, I don't want to leave. How do I say goodbye to her? When night falls, I have to meet Quinn so we can leave. I don't think I'll last five minutes, let alone a year. I know Mare needs it, she's still in high school, and I have some making up to do, but damn it! How the hell am I going to manage?  
  
Suddenly, my train of thought derails as a little jolt of lightning touches my shoulder. "Hey," is all that seems to make it out of Mare's throat, that and a little sigh.  
  
"Hey," is the best reply I can think of, until Ash's thought train is back on schedule. "I don't want to leave you. I don't want to go!" She just sighes and rests her forehead on my shoulder, and the electricity is becoming a current running through my body. "I am fortune's fool," I swear under my breath.  
  
"Don't say that, Romeo wound up dead."  
  
"You're right. Juliet died too, and that's worse." I think she knows what I mean. "I love you. What am I going to do for a year?"  
  
"Live." She says it with a straight face, at least until she remembers what I am. Then we both giggle for a few minutes. "Maybe you should enjoy being single, since you will have a girl waiting when you come back," she adds, but her laugh is a bit forced now.  
  
"Never! I love you too much. I couldn't." I really couldn't, and I don't want her to think I ever could.  
  
"I love you too."  
  
Suddenly, we are in each others' arms, both crying our eyes out. I keep kissing her on the back of her neck and whispering, "I don't want to go, I love you so much," over and over again. 


	2. Dark Visions III: The Passion (Gabriel's...

... "We did it! We did it!" It is all around me, shouting, laughter. We finally did it! We killed him. Zetes is dead. I, we, killed him. We are free. Without realizing it, I'm jumping up and down, laughing. We all are. Finally, we're free. I kiss Kait on the cheek.  
  
Eventually, we all calm down. Kessler comes up to me, and I see the smile on his face. Finally it sinks in, what is about to happen, what I have to do.  
  
"Thanks for keeping Kaitlyn safe for me," and he takes her hand. Kait gives me this fake smile, like she wants to cry. I do too, Kait. I do too.  
  
It took me a minute to realize he was talking. "We have to go through this place, find the evidence we need to prove that Mr. Zetes was doing all this." I nod, like everyone else, fighting back the tears. Kait, I love you! I want to tell her, run to her, yank her away from him, but I can't. I can't even think it to her, Rob might hear. Damn you, Kessler!  
  
Suddenly, he comes over to me with this look on his face. "Let me see your arm, Gabriel." It hurts, I want him to heal it, but he can't see this! "No!" I yank my arm back. I struggle for a few minutes, but he finally grabs it, yanks it out for all to see. Everyone gasps.  
  
He starts healing the burn marks and cuts I made last night, but he isn't only healing me, he's trying to get a mind link. "Get off! I just got hurt when the shard exploded. Let me go! It wasn't even this arm!" It's too late, Kessler's in my thoughts, seeing, probing, putting his damn nose where it doesn't belong. I struggle harder.  
  
"You didn't get hurt by the shard." He sounds sick, almost like he can't breath, like he's tired. "You did this to yourself. They were hurting Kaitlyn, and you had to keep a mind link with her, you thought pain would help. You used a cigarette butt and a shard of glass, and ended up picking at the wounds half the night to keep the pain fresh." I give up struggling, he won't let me go. Does he know? I glance at Kait. No! Don't look at her! Rob can't know!  
  
Suddenly, Rob's grip goes limp. I yank my arm back, but it's too late; he knows. "You love Kaitlyn, don't you?"  
  
Suddenly me, Mr. Tough, can't look him in the eye. "Yes."  
  
He has this look on his face, like he's swallowing glass and laughing about it. "You more than love her, you'd do anything for her. Crawl on your belly through broken glass, right?"  
  
"Yes, damn it! I love her!" For an instant, I look up, fierce as anything, before my resolve shatters and I go back to staring at a spot near Kessler's feet.  
  
Rob looks at Kait, and he still has that face. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Suddenly, I really see Kait for the first time since Zetes had her pulled out of the tank. She's shaking, her hair's all a mess, and any minute now she's going to cry. She is so beautiful, and I'm going to lose her. Our eyes meet, and we agree then, without any communication, don't hurt Rob.  
  
Suddenly, Kait's thoughts are flying through the link. He can't know, he can't know, he can't know! I can't hurt Rob! I can't, I can't I can't I can't, no no no no no nonononononoNO!  
  
I didn't realize till then just how shot Kait was. She needed sleep and peace and quiet before she could think without letting the entire link see, including Rob. She looked at me, then Anna and Lewis, and realized that they all heard her. "I just, I didn't realize ... so much happened, and I-. I'll get over it!"  
  
Rob's face mutated again. Now he looks like he got hit by a bus and is trying to tell his mother he'll be okay. "No you won't. You'd better not, either of you." He keeps swallowing. "I love you Kait, Lord knows how much," a lone tear slides down his cheek, "but I can't come between what you two have. Nothing could." He slowly walks by me, and pats my shoulder. Take care of her.  
  
I will.  
  
I see Anna and Kait look at each other for a moment, then Anna runs after him. Somehow, I'm not suprised. Lewis and Lydia quickly walk out of the room too. Suddenly Kait turns and looks at me, and she's grinning like a little kid. I practically run to her, and pull her into my arms. She's shaking so badly I can barely hold her. I kiss her hair as I lead her to the couch. We just sit together for a while, my arms around her.  
  
It was a while before she spoke. "I love you, Gabriel."  
  
"I don't know how you can love a monster like me."  
  
"Never a monster. Never. You have saved me more times than I can count."  
  
"Almost enough to make up for the times I've hurt you."  
  
"Did I tell you looked like a knight holding that shard? My knight. And I didn't thank you." She reaches out and puts her arms around my waist, then kisses me. I kiss back, and we stay that way for a long time. She smiled. "You thought so many beautiful things last night, now it's my turn." And so we spent the next few hours, Kait in my arms, thinking about the most beautiful things, and showing me each one in turn.  
  
* * *  
  
We must have slept for an hour or two. I woke up when I heard footsteps on the stairs.  
  
"How is she?" God, Rob looks like someone died. His hair is messed up and his eyes are bloodshot.  
  
"She's just tired." Now what the hell am I supposed to say? "Are you okay?"  
  
He smiles like someone died and says, "Fine," with a weak laugh. "I mean, as fine as I should expect." He sighes, then looks at the ceiling for a minute. "Take care o- why am I telling you that? You would die for her, I don't need to tell you to take care of her!" He sighes again. "I just came to say that, well, if I had to pick someone else for Kait, it would be you."  
  
"Thanks, Rob. I don't deserve it, I don't deserve her ! I don't know how she can care about me at all." I can't help looking at her, asleep in my arms. She looks like an angel, my angel. "She's worried about you."  
  
"She shouldn't be. I'll be okay. Eventually."  
  
"She knows that."  
  
"Want help getting her upstairs?"  
  
"Not yet. I just want to hold her in my arms for a little while."  
  
"Okay." He turns to go.  
  
He didn't tell me where he was headed, but I knew. "Tell Anna I said hi."  
  
"How did you ... another stupid thing to say. You're a telepath in a permanent mind link with me, and I ask how you know where I'm going."  
  
"I didn't figure it out from you; Kait told me," I said, watching the dazed look on his face. "She had a premonition. Good luck with her."  
  
"Thanks," and he left. 


	3. Night World: The Huntress (Morgead's Sto...

"You're gonna die! You're gonna burn right now!" Thistle! She's kicking ashes at the kid. Damn her, what is she doing?  
  
Then it hits me, the kid is going to jump! It's three stories, she won't make it, damn it! Now what?  
  
Oh God, Jez is running after her! Jez! I say it telepathically, hardly knowing that I'm projecting it, that I'm leaping after her. I hear Val and Raven shouting, but I don't care. By the time I hit the ground, Jez and Iona are sprawled on the sidewalk. No, please no, let her be okay. But I don't have to worry, she's already sitting up.  
  
"Are you all right? Jez! " No! She can't be hurt. I need Jez, she's my soulmate, even if she won't admit it. No! She has to be fine.  
  
"Of course I'm alright." She takes a deep breath, then suddenly remembers something. "Iona! Are you all right?"  
  
The kid just looks at us. She has intense brown eyes. Kind of sad, tired. "That was really scary."  
  
Jez starts babbling at the kid, "I know. I'm sorry, Iona; I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have done that. It was a very bad thing to do, and I'm really sorry, and we're going to take you home now. Nobody's going to hurt you. We're going to take you back to your mom." Man, do I feel rotten. "Can you erase her memory? I can't see any reason why she should have to remember all this."  
  
"Yeah, I can wipe her." Poor kid.  
  
Jez keeps going, "Because she's not the Wild Power, you know. She's an extroardinary kid, and I don't know exactly what she's going to be- maybe President or some great doctor or botanist or something. Something special, because she's got that inner light- something that keeps her from getting mad or hysterical. But that's got nothing to do with being a Wild Power."  
  
I have to shut her up, God she needs sleep. "All right! I know, already! She's not it. I was wrong. I made a bad mistake. Okay?"  
  
"Okay. So can you please wipe her?"  
  
"Yes! I'm doing it! Look, kid, I'm- sorry." Amazing how hard it is to spit the words out. "I'd never thought you'd- you know, jump like that. This has been a pretty rotten day, hasn't it? So why don't you just forget all about it, and before you know it, you'll be home."  
  
"It's okay. It won't hurt." I can't remember Jez being so friendly towards humans before, but then, I haven't been before either. I brush that aside while I wrap the tendrils of my mind around hers, wiping away her memories for the last two hours.  
  
"You don't ever have to remember this. So why don't you just go to sleep? You can have a little nap, and when you wake up, you'll be home." The kid just slumps into Jez's arms.  
  
Jez sets the kid down gently on the pavement. "Thanks." God, Jez has a pretty smile!  
  
"It was the least I could do." Wait a second. Why didn't Jez wipe the kid herself if she cares so much?  
  
She must have seen the look on my face. "I'm really kind of tired, after everything that happened today. I don't have much power left."  
  
Right. What isn't she telling me? "Yeah ..."  
  
"Plus, I hurt."  
  
Morg, you moron! The girl can't even sit up all the way, and you're giving her the third degree. How could you forget about Jez, of all people? I bet she's hurting. "Can you move everything? What about your legs? Do you feel numb anywhere?" I give her the once-over with my hands, making sure nothing's broken.  
  
"I can move everything, and I only wish I felt numb somewhere."  
  
"Jez- I'm sorry." Amazing how hard apologies are. "I didn't mean ... I mean, this just hasn't turned out the way I planned. The kid getting hurt- you getting hurt. It just wasn't what i had in mind."  
  
"I'm not hurt." Nice try, but no.  
  
"Yes, you are." I reach out and put my hand on her forehead to give her some power. She looks so tired.  
  
"Morgead- what are you doing?!" What, she's never shared energy before? Hunter discovered it, for godsakes.  
  
"Giving you some power. You're low and you need it." Duh.  
  
Suddenly, that silver cord is back. I let it pull me along. How can Jez deny this? Suddenly, I really see her face. She has a look I've never seen before, a mix of wonder and fear. "Morgead..."  
  
I just look back at her, knowing that I have a matching expression on my face. "Jez..." She leans into my arms, and I pull her close, let our lips connect.  
  
Wow. That's the best way to describe it. I'm falling into her soul, melting into her mind. I feel the subtlest hint of panic, but either it's not strong or she's blocking it. It doesn't matter. I just enjoy being one with her, and she's an amazing kisser. Wow.  
  
Suddenly, my revery is shattered. Jez! Morgead! What's wrong with you two? Who the hell? Hey, look; I'm just trying to help. If you guys are alive, then, like give us a sign, okay?  
  
Damn it! Can't a guy enjoy himself? It's Val. I have to kill him.  
  
I'm going to help. Oh- wait. Where are we ...? It's almost a laughable question, or it would be if I knew.  
  
I slowly open my eyes. Jez and I are sitting on the sidewalk, with Iona lying a few feet away. Val, Thistle, Raven, and Pierce are all standing around, staring at us. I notice my arms are around Jez, and I drop them quickly. At least we weren't still kissing, that would have been worse than embarassing, although Jez is turning scarlet anyway. "What do you guys want?"  
  
Raven's eyebrows shoot up as she starts shouting at me, and her eyes, both of them for once, flash violently. "What do we want? You three jumped off the roof just as the fire got out of control. We put it out and came down here to see if you were still alive- and then we find you here hanging on to each other and totally out of it. And you want to know what we want? We want to know if you're okay! "  
  
"We're fine." Why can't I have a gang that will butt out of my business? Stupid question, because I know they're just worried, but I still am angry. Who am I angry at, anyway? Jez crawls over to Iona. I can tell she isn't hurting as badly now by the way she moves. Good thing.  
  
Thistle looks edgy, like we are about to kill her. She's probably right. "What about her?"  
  
"She's fine, too. No thanks to you." I have never seen Jez this angry.  
  
Thistle looks at the ground and mutters, "She's just a human."  
  
I'm on my feet without thinking about it. "She's a kid! Which you're not. You're just a-a sixteen-year-old Shirley Temple-wannabe." Why am I mad at Thistle? What do I care if she hurt vermin? For some reason, I do care, and that scares me, but I'm too mad right now to stop and think about it.  
  
Jez just glares at me, and then Thistle. "All right, both of you! You," she looks at me, "be quiet and let me take care of things. And you," she shouts at Thistle, with a look that could kill pigeons in midair, "if you ever try to hurt a kid again, I'll knock your head off. Okay, that's settled. Now we've got to get this girl home."  
  
"Home?" Val mutters, looking dazedly around.  
  
Jez picks up Iona and rolls her eyes at him. "Yeah, Val. In case you missed something, she's not the Wild Power."  
  
Val just looks at me, dumfounded. "But ... You mean you were wrong?"  
  
"There's a first time for everything, right?" Why are they such numskulls? I made a stupid mistake, so what?  
  
Raven looks troubled. "But then-who is the Wild Power?"  
  
Pierce almost seems happy. "Who knows?" Man, that guy is giving off weird vibes.  
  
"If this kid isn't the one-well, I guess it could have been anybody at the scene," said Jez. "Anybody worried enough to want to save her. One of the firefighters, a neighbor-anybody."  
  
Pierce just smirks at Jez. "Assuming the flash on the tape really was evidence of a Wild Power."  
  
"I think it was. It sure looked like blue fire. And it certainly was some kind of power."  
  
"And Grandma Harman dreamed about the Wild Power being in San Francisco. It all fits too well," I add. "But it couldn't have been anybody at the scene, you know."  
  
Jez looks puzzled. "Why not?"  
  
"Because of what you said about that line in the prophesy. 'Born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision.' That means it has to be somebody born less than eighteen years ago. Before that, Aradia couldn't have visions because she wasn't alive." Morg, the genius. I expect Jez to be glaring at me for one-upping her, but she just smiles. Wow.  
  
Raven, of course, bursts our bubble, the only lead we've got. "It's still not much to go on. But don't you think we should go back inside to discuss it? Somebody's going to come along eventually and see us with an unconscious kid."  
  
Jez sighs, then nods. "Good point. But I'm not going up with you. I'm taking the kid home."  
  
"Me, too." She's not going alone. I don't know if I want to make sure she won't try anything, or if I just want to be with her. Morg, you are losing control, man.  
  
Jez sees the look on my face, then nods. "Okay, but just us. Two motorcycles are going to be conspicuous enough. The rest of you can do what we want tonight; try to figure out who the Wild Power is or whatever. We'll meet again tomorrow and see what we've come up with."  
  
"Why wait? It's only dusk. We could meet tonight-" Val suggests.  
  
Jez just shakes her head. "I'm tired. It's enough for the day." She looks really tired. Is she okay? I hope she's alright.  
  
Pierce gives her an odd look, but he's still smirking when he says, "So you'll have to report to Hunter that we failed." What is with that guy?  
  
"Yeah, I'll tell him you screwed up. But that we still have some options. Unless you'd rather I just tell him that you're all idiots and not worth giving a second chance." She just glares at him, and of course the jerk looks away first. Then she just picks up Iona and hops on her bike. I follow her lead, and we zip through the streets.  
  
I can't keep my mind focused. At least Jez is in the lead, so I don't have to think about where I'm going. My mind keeps thinking about that kiss. It was the most wonderful thing I've ever felt. Or it could have been. Jez didn't like it though, I could tell. Well, she liked it, but she was pulling back from me. She wouldn't let me see her soul. Stupid thing to ask anyone to do, but I let Jez see mine. She must hate me or something. Why else wouldn't she let me in?  
  
Damn, the kid's mom called the cops. Now what? Jez stops her motorcycle in an alley across the street, with me on her tail. "We'll have to do a drive-by. Drop her by the police cars and then shoot out of there. They'll probably chase us. Are you up for it?"  
  
"We should go seperate ways. That'll make it harder for them to catch us."  
  
She nodds brusquely. "Right. You go on home once you lose them. So will I."  
  
She's going where? "So will you? Go home?"  
  
"I mean I'll go to the place where I'm staying."  
  
I don't want her to leave. Maybe she can hang out at my apartment for a while. We can talk about the Wild Power. Yeah, right. Morg, all you want is to kiss her again, and you know it. "Do you have to?"  
  
"Yes, I have to. I want to. I'm tired, Morgead, and anyway I'm not ready to be spending the night with a guy." She thinks I want to bang her?  
  
"I didn't mean that-" Well, I wouldn't have minded, but I really meant just hang out. Really.  
  
"I know. I'm sorry. But I'm still tired and-"  
  
"And you're still mad." Why is she pissed at me?  
  
"I'm not mad-"  
  
She must hate me, she's even lying to me. "Or disgusted or whatever."  
  
She shakes her head firmly, but she looks confused. "I'm just tired. Now let's drop the kid off, and I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"I-" won't see her again tonight unless I drag her back to my place, and I won't do that. "All right." She wants to leave me, again, she can. I won't stop her.  
  
We speed out of the alley, with Jez slowing down long enough to hand Iona to a startled neighbor. Then, we're off on our seperate ways as the cops give chase. I'm half tempted to follow Jez, see where she's staying, but I know they'll catch us if we do.  
  
I finally dodge them, and then hi-tail it back to my apartment. I need sleep, and time to think. What am I going to do tomorrow?  
  
* * *  
  
I come to slowly, with a pain in my head, as I feel little jolts of lightning touching my forehead. My eyes open to bright red curls. "Jez! Jez, what happened? Where are we?" I look around. We're in the back of a moving van, the two of us and two humans, a boy and a girl. That vermin guy looks familiar, where from?  
  
"I was hoping you might tell me that." She's trying to stay cool, but it isn't working. She's panicking.  
  
"I got hit. With wood. Somebody got me when I left my apartment. Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I got hit with a car. But it could be worse; it was almost a train." I spend a second picturing myself ripping their guts out for hurting her. She snaps me out of it, asking, "Do you have any idea who hit you?"  
  
"No. Pierce called to say he'd come up with something on the Wild Power. I was going to meet him when suddenly I got attacked from behind." A train? "What do you mean, it was almost a train?"  
  
She's busy checking out the van, I do the same. "Nothing here. Nothing on the sides. This van is stripped."  
  
"Nothing here, either. What do you mean, a train?" She had better tell me.  
  
"You really don't know?"  
  
Jez thinks I would hurt her. She really thinks that. Oh damn. "You think I would do something to hurt you?"  
  
"It's happened in the past." She's trying to seem cool again, like she doesn't care. Bullshit.  
  
"I have no idea what's going on. And I would not try to hurt you."  
  
She just closes her eyes and leans against the side of the van. "Then we're both in trouble."  
  
"I believe you there." I just lean against my side of the van. "It's the Council, isn't it? They found out about Hunter's deal with us, and they're moving in."  
  
"Probably." Something about the way she said that rubs me wrong. I can almost feel the silver thread again, and it's twitching. Oblivious, she continues, "Whether it's the Council or not, we're going to have to fight them. How's your energy-blast trick? The one you demonstrated when we were stick-fighting."  
  
"Not good. I used up all my Power fighting the guys who tackled me. It'll be a long time before I recharge."  
  
"Too bad. Because those two aren't going to be able to do much."  
  
Be casual. "Those humans? Who are they, by the way?"  
  
"That's Claire, and this is Hugh. They're-acquaintances. They've helped me in the past."  
  
"Humans?" Why would vermin help her?  
  
"Even humans can be useful sometimes."  
  
"I thought maybe one of them might be the Wild Power."  
  
"You thought if I found the Wild Power I wouldn't tell you?" Suddenly it hits me. That vermin I recognized, he's a Daybreaker!  
  
I try to stay calm while I answer, figure out how to phrase my thoughts. "It occurred to me."  
  
"You're so cynical, Morgead." She smiles at me, and I almost forget what I just figured out. Almost, but not quite.  
  
I start to smirk a little, just because I'm so pissed off. "I prefer to call it observant. For instance, I can tell you something about your friend Hugh, there. I saw him in the city, just once, but I remember his face. He's a damned Daybreaker."  
  
She just frowns and says, "So maybe I'm using him for something." Yeah, right.  
  
I know I'm smirking now, half in denial and half in anger. "And maybe you're using me. You know, there's still a connection between us. I can feel it, sort of like a cord between our minds. It pulls. You can't deny it, Jez. It's there whether you like it or not. And-it tells me things. Things about you."  
  
"So what's it telling you now?" She looks absolutely furious at me. I have to rush on, before I lose my resolve.  
  
Suddenly, the pieces are falling into place, and I pray that I'm wrong even as I say it all. "That you're not telling the truth. That there's something you're keeping from me. And that it has to do with him. Something to do with why you want the Wild Power. And where you've been for the past year, and with why you suddenly want to protect humans. And why you say 'Goddess' when you're surprised. No vampire says that. It's a witch thing."  
  
"Anything else?" She's beyond furious at me now, but I have to know.  
  
"And with why you're scared of me reading your thoughts." I sigh, then put on a smile. "Told you I was observant."  
  
"Yeah, Morgead, you're brilliant. So are you smart enough to figure out what it all means? Or just to get suspicious?"  
  
"It means-" I can't say it! "It means ... that you're ... with Circle Daybreak."  
  
"Very good. Two points. No, one; it took you long enough."  
  
No. No! It can't be. Jez, my Jez, she can't be a Daybreaker! But she is, and I have to make her see reason. I grab her shoulders and shake her. "You little idiot!"  
  
"What?" She had risen into a crouch, a fighting stance, and I unbalanced her, she is practically falling over. In shock?  
  
"You're a Daybreaker?"  
  
"I thought you had it all figured out." She's still sarcastic, but she's suprised too.  
  
"I did-I guess-but I still can't believe it. Jez, why? Don't you know how stupid that is? Don't you realize what's going to happen to them?"  
  
"Look, Morgead-" She tries to talk, to explain, but I keep babbling onward, shaking her shoulders.  
  
"They're going to lose, Jez. It's not just going to be the Council against them now. Everybody in the Night World is going to be gunning for them. They're going to get wiped out, and anybody who sides with them will be wiped out, too."  
  
"I'm not just siding with them. I am one of them. I'm a damned Daybreaker." She's giving me That Look. The 'I'm right and I'll kill you if you don't shut up' look. I ignore it.  
  
"You're a dead Daybreaker! I can't believe this! How am I supposed to protect you from the whole Night World?"  
  
"What?" She's stunned. Completely stunned. What, she thought I was going to kill her? Kill Jez? I couldn't if I wanted to.  
  
"You heard me. I don't care who your friends are, Jez. I don't even care that you came back to use me. I'm just glad you came back. We're soulmates, and nothing can change that. Even if you won't admit it."  
  
"Morgead ..." She just looks at me, for a long time. "I'm sorry. For all of this, Morgead-I'm sorry. It really wasn't fair for you for me to come back."  
  
"I told you; I'm glad you did. We can work things out-if you'll just stop being so stubborn. We'll get out of this-"  
  
"Even if we do get out of it, nothing's going to change. I can't be your soulmate, Morgead." Why not? It isn't as if we can change it or anything.  
  
I have to convince her, I can't let her go. "Yes, you can. I told you, I don't care who your friends are. We'll keep you alive somehow. The only thing I don't understand is why you'd want to ally yourself with stupid humans, when you know they're going to lose."  
  
Suddenly, her entire face changes. She shivers, looks down at the carpet of the van. When she finally meets my gaze, her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, are crying. "Because I'm a human."  
  
No. No, no, no, NO NO NO NONONONO ! She's lying again, trying to confuse me. No. It can't be, she has fangs, she drinks blood. It can't be true. No. Her parents are vampires, she's a direct descendant of Hunter Redfern. No. She's lying, that's it!  
  
The silver cord will tell me. It'll tell me she's lying. It'll shake again, and I'll yell at her for lying to me, and everything will be fine. Even as I think it, the delusion shatters. All I feel in the link between us is pain. She's hurting badly, crying inside. I want her to feel better, but how? Every thought I've ever had about vermin, if she's right, has now blown itself to smithereens. How do I cope with that?  
  
It can't be though, her parents were vampires, her last name is Redfern for crying out loud! It can't be. No. She has to be lying. "No! How?"  
  
She's shaking hard, nearly hysterical. "My mom was human. They had me. no one knows how. Then, when I was three years old, people came. But they weren't vampire slayers, they were vampires! They were screaming, 'Kill the freak!' and they were screaming it at me. At me, Morgead! I didn't remember it until that last day, when I heard that poor guy begging for mercy. Then, well I couldn't kill him. So you know what? I moved in with my mother's family. That's my cousin Claire. Hugh helped me join Daybreak, and now I'm the vampire slayer. I hunt down vampires who hurt humans for fun, and I kill them.  
  
"Now, are you going to kill me, or is the engagement just off?" She's shaking so badly. I want to run to her, hold her. But I can't. She's vermin! My Jez! No, it can't be. It just can't.  
  
"But you have powers!"  
  
"Only when I drink blood. I've been clean for a year." She makes it sound like a drug or something! But it was, a voice in the back of Morgead's mind whispered. It's a drug you can't live without.  
  
"Maybe you should drink your friends, then, because any minute now-," he started to say, when the van lurched to a halt.  
  
Jez just looked at him, her blue eyes flashing. "Look, Morgead. These humans are my friends, and I won't let anything happen to them. I don't expect you to try and save them, but don't get in my way." As she finished, the door to the van was opened. The sunlight was bright, blinding them both... TO BE CONTINUED 


End file.
